Documentary about Rio to Lima long distance bus

A big thanks to Ramon for telling me about this documentary. It shows exactly why I enjoy these bus trips so much.

I won't be posting for four days, so enjoy this while I'm gone!

Bonus: It's narrated by that English speaker in all those Auto Motor Und Sport videos.

A day trip up to Sonoma/Napa

A couple of Fridays ago, after the huge fires died down, we went up to Sonoma and Napa for the day. The area depends on tourism so we thought we'd do our part. Here is what we saw.

We first drove up to Sonoma. We passed by Sonoma Raceway. 60% of the hill overlooking the racetrack was charred black.

We went to Ceja Winery near Fremont Diner. It was the first day the tasting room opened since the fire. We were the only ones there for a long time, until a couple from Charleston, South Carolina, showed up. Here are a few unused livery cars parked outside.

We then went to St. Helena for lunch. The restaurant is usually pretty busy, but we had no problem getting a table. The staff frankly looked shellshocked. The menu was very limited, but we had a good time.

Then, it was a stroll through town. I saw this BMW Z8 in a bank parking lot. I wonder if it belongs to a good customer who needed a safe place to protect his prized possession from the fire.

And I believe that's a Honda Clarity, the fuel cell-powered sedan. It looked fugly.

We then drove up to Calistoga. The town was evacuated but the firefighters were able to save it. It's my favorite place up there. I couldn't get a mud bath at Indian Springs that day because the male section of the spa was closed for planned renovations.

And here's the drive down Silverado Trail. The fire reached the edge of the road and many buildings and vineyards were saved. The firefighters did an incredible job.

Pan-American Highway blocked by indigenous protestors

This could definitely throw a wrench into my trip. Indigenous groups all over Colombia are upset about a number of legitimate issues. And selfishly, it's going to potentially wreck my vacation plans. Right now, I'm not concerned about my safety. It's more of a logistics/time issue. I gave myself two days of leeway in case of unexpected delays, but that may not be enough.

Here is a short news piece.

Here is raw footage of a protest.

Here is a longer piece about the plight of long-distance/international travelers.

Here is a typical roadblock.

The Soviet Concorde

Sexy compression socks

I'm gearing up for my South American bus trip. And this time, I will be wearing compression socks to combat deep vein thrombosis. Two-and-a-half days straight on a bus is a long time to be sitting around. I'll be doing exercises and drinking plenty of fluids on the bus, but I should wear these socks as a precaution. I ended up ordering Jobst socks. I had no idea they were so sexy.

Two traditional Virginia meals

These were from my recent trip.

First up, we have a Southern/Soul Food lunch from Mama J's in the historically African-American quarter of Richmond called Jackson Ward. The sides-- cornbread, greens, and macaroni and cheese-- were the standouts. The catfish was good too, but I should have just ordered one piece instead of two. My eyes were clearly bigger than my stomach. The secret ingredient was salt.

Another memorable meal was lunch at The Roanoker. On the trip, I learned about the difference between City Ham and Country Ham. City Ham is what we consider "ham" outside of Virginia. It is preserved with nitrates. Country Ham is what they eat in Virginia. The bone is kept in and it is preserved with salt.

Again, the sides were the stars of the show. The fresh biscuits, green beans, and garden tomatoes were fantastic.

Another Darien Gap documentary

This is the most recent documented crossing by a journalist. Really informative, with the drama filtered out.

Vaccinations and travel alerts for Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

I just realized my bus trip is only three months away. Time to check what I need in terms of vaccinations.

Colombia

Yellow fever vaccine, if coming from Angola, Brazil, DRC, or Uganda.

U.S. citizens should exercise caution, as violence linked to domestic insurgency, narco-trafficking, crime, and kidnapping occur in some rural and urban areas.  This replaces the previous travel warning dated April 5, 2016.  

Organized political and criminal armed groups are active throughout much of the country and their methods include the use of explosives and bomb threats in public spaces. Violence associated with the armed groups occurs in rural areas as well as Colombia's major cities, including in the capital. These groups are heavily involved in the drug trade, extortion, kidnapping, and robbery. On November 30, 2016, the Colombian government approved a peace accord with the largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The peace agreement is in the process of being implemented and does not include other active armed groups.

Violent crime is a threat throughout Colombia. Kidnapping remains a threat, although U.S. citizens are not specifically targeted. Violent political groups and other criminal organizations occasionally kidnap and hold civilians, including foreigners, for ransom. 

Ecuador

Yellow fever vaccination, if traveling in the Amazon Basin.

Exercise caution when traveling to northern Ecuador, especially the provinces of Carchi, northern Esmeraldas, and Sucumbíos.  U.S. government personnel may travel to the northern bank of the Napo River in Sucumbíos, where tourist lodges are located, an area approximately four miles wide.  All other U.S. government travel to the northern border area is prohibited without prior permission.  This region has a high rate of ransom kidnappings.  U.S. citizens are not targeted, but have been kidnapped there in the past.  

• Pick-pocketing, robbery, and hotel room theft are the most common crimes.  Tourists have been robbed at gunpoint on beaches and along hiking trails.  Passengers arriving at the Quito and Guayaquil airports have also been targets of armed robberies.
• Use hotel safes if available, avoid wearing obviously expensive jewelry or clothing, and carry only the cash or credit cards that you need.  Stay alert in crowds and on public transportation.  Be aware that thieves might create distractions to target you.
• Be alert for express kidnappings, in which criminals enter a taxi and force victims to withdraw money from ATMs.  Some victims have been beaten or raped.  Avoid hailing taxis on the street.  Order taxis by phone or use a service affiliated with major hotels.  Avoid withdrawing large amounts of cash at one time.  Use ATMs in well-protected indoor areas.
• To avoid carjacking or theft from your car while you are stopped at intersections, drive with your doors locked and windows rolled up. Do not leave valuables in plain view.
• Sexual assaults and rapes can occur, even in tourist areas.  Travel in groups, do not leave food or drinks unattended, and never allow a stranger to give you a drink.
• Do not let your credit card out of your sight in order to avoid credit card “skimming.”
• Incapacitating drugs, such as rohypnol and scopolamine, have been used to facilitate violent robberies and sexual assaults.

Peru

Yellow fever vaccination is recommended.

Narcotics traffickers, terrorist groups and other organized, armed bands still operate in some remote parts of Peru. 

Armed robberies, express kidnappings, carjacking's, and petty theft occur frequently. Credit card fraud is also common in Peru. “Smash-and-grab” style robberies are most often reported on main tourist corridors immediately following arrival at Lima’s airport. Use only official airport taxi services. Do not hail taxis on the street. 

While violence committed against foreigners is infrequent, robberies involving violence have been on the rise. Do not resist a robbery attempt.  Victims who do not resist generally do not suffer serious physical harm. Some criminals with a motive of robbery or sexual assault may target victims by drugging them in bars and other areas frequented by tourists.

 Looks like I'm all set!

We are back!

We just flew back from Richmond, Virginia. The trip was filled with cars and ham. I got to visit the 900-car Duncan collection and drove a 1991 Toyota Century and a Gen 1 Isuzu Impulse Irmscher Turbo! A detailed report will be coming shortly.

Nigerian speeders have to go for mental exam

Seems legit.

Indian northeast documentary

So many different kinds of not-Hindus/Muslims/Sikhs.

Going to Richmond, Virginia

Next week, we will be in Richmond, Virginia, for my wife's high school reunion. It's a small Southern city with a lot of history. It was once the capital of the Confederacy. The biggest mansions are along Monument Avenue. There have been calls, of course, to take them down.

If this promotional video is to be believed, the town has been taken over by hipsters. So there's hope!

Best North Korea documentary out there

I've been searching for and watching North Korean videos on YouTube for a decade now, and this one is by far the best. A Canadian tourist exhaustively chronicled his trip there. The first half takes place in Pyongyang. The second half takes place in secondary and tertiary cities. It's fantastic and is definitely worth watching.

H/t to Ramon!

Latin American taxi crash tests

First of all, can anyone identify the make and model of these Medellin taxis?

I first noticed these microtaxis in Nicaragua, which had tons of them. They might have been more noticeable due to the lack of private cars on the streets (as compared with other Latin American nations).

I'll be using these quite a bit in Colombia: Cali, Medellin, Turbo, and Bogota. It would be funny to see me fit in the back of one of these with my big backpack. It would not be funny, I imagine, to be rear-ended in one of these.

I present to you: Latin American crash tests of typical taxi models.

Do they still sell these old Nissan Sentras as new cars, Ramon?

Chinese Cherys.

Not requiring frontal airbags in new cars is as anachronistic as restaurant smoking sections.

These are not the Sparks sold in America. These are teeny.

I think these Indian-made Suzukis were what I saw a lot of down there.

Conan O'Brien visits Golan Heights and Tel Aviv

Crazy that he could hear the fighting from his vantage point.

Tel Aviv looks like a chill place to hang out. 

Carspotting in Italy

A friend just came back from Italy and shared the following photos and insight (at the end):

• Pisa is a waste of time. 
• The hill towns are amazing. We stayed in Orvieto and visited Civita Bagnaregio. Both awe inspiring. 
• Pedestrians do not have the right of way. 
• Italian drivers take lane markings very casually. 
• Cars are tiny so they can drive down small alley ways that you don't think should really be streets. 
• If you get just a little bit outside the tourist areas you are more likely to encounter people who speak no English. 
• Trains work pretty well, buses are ok. We almost got stranded by a bus strike though. 
• There's a 50/50 chance that anyone is going to check your train ticket. There seems to be a zero percent chance that your bus ticket will be checked. 
• Sienna is pretty awesome. 
• The train station with the name that's the most fun to say is Firenze Santa Maria Novella. 
• Italians basically don't believe in washcloths. 
• Do not use the small towels hanging above the bidet as washcloths. They are for your butt. 
• Children spend a lot of time trying to kick pigeons. 
• Restaurants do not server olive oil and vinegar with bread. 
• The bread really isn't that good. The Italians could learn a thing or two from the French on appreciating good bread. 
• Some words don't have an exact translation but are more of a general use like allora and prego. 
• Many public restrooms don't have toilet seats. 
• Wiener dogs are very popular. 
• I met a lot of cats that seem to be just hanging out living their life in amazing settings. The cats (like the cars) are pretty small. 
• Capri is beautiful but a total tourist trap. 
• We had a nice kosher meal in the historically Jewish district with some fried Jerusalem artichokes. 
• Romans will go out of their way to tell you that they're Roman. They consider that additive to being Italian. 
• We had a tour guide that spoke Italian, English, Spanish, French, a little bit of German and could speak passably in Japanese.

Sleeper bus between San Francisco and Los Angeles

8 hours, $115. Unless you're afraid of flying, I do not see the appeal to this, or this business model.

Traffic jam in North Korea

A very interesting mix of cars. This ballsy Indonesian guy who lived in Pyongyang uploaded a bunch of GoPro videos of his time there. There is one where he went to get his rear view mirror fixed and there were some cool old German cars at the mechanic's.

Automatic beer dispenser

Wanted to visit #航空科学博物館 air museum during Narita stopover, learned it's closed for holiday. Well then, Plan B(eer) at 10am.

A post shared by Rich Chen (@rchen) on Sep 18, 2017 at 7:31pm PDT

Marco Island survived

Approximately 1,000 people stayed on the island when the storm hit. No fatalities as far as I can tell. News has been hard to come by. Below is a letter the condo association sent to all the owners. Eddie better get a Christmas bonus.

"Eddie, our maintenance manager, and twelve other owners and/or residents and/or family members of owners remained in the building throughout Hurricane Irma – thankfully, they all worked together, supported each other, and are well (considering what they have been through).  Frankly, that is the most important thing!

Very quickly:

1. Power went out yesterday morning (Sept. 10) and no one knows when it will return.  The building generator is operating and is keeping the essentials running, with power to the Social Room.  There is NO power to your units – assume no air conditioning and no working refrigerators.
2. We were fortunate that there was not the storm surge that was predicted – the sand berm or dune held against the gulf, which completely covered the beach – perhaps a 4 foot storm surge.
3. Our damage came from the front and East side of the storm.  Those units on the island side of the building were affected the most, i.e. those units with old windows (without high impact glass) were either blown out or broken by flying debris.  We are currently making a quick survey of the building but if you had not updated your windows and have a unit on the island side, you should assume that your unit windows were breached and that you have unit damage.  Please notify your insurance carrier as soon as possible.  Eddie and other staff are working on the building and will not be able to provide any assistance to you at this point.  We are making efforts to secure someone to board up windows but workers and lumber are absent, and no one knows for sure when the Island will be accessible.
4. Our main damage is from water intrusion through the compromised windows.  We are working to contain that water but it has spread to the hallways and probably to other units.
5. Our roof for the building held, but the farthest carport roof (closest to the street) blew off, causing flying debris.
6. All palm trees are down – many broken like toothpicks – but much of the rest of the landscaping that was low survived.  One palm is in the pool and the grill area is “gone”.  Eddie will move the grills back outside when it is safe to do so, which will provide a cooking surface for those at the building.
7. I am receiving reports from other buildings, and some reports are much worse than ours.  I have also received unverified reports relating to City infrastructure, bridges being evaluated, etc., so at this point I have no real information as to whether the City is accessible or habitable.  Before attempting to come down, please check with the City and others, as well as a Board Member or Management Team member, to make sure to you can get to your unit.

In many ways, considering we took a direct hit from a major hurricane, the news is better than might be expected; on the other hand, there will be much work to perform over the next weeks and months to get our building and grounds back to A-1 shape.  Your Board is committed to this process and will act as quickly and appropriately as possible.  Many of us have offered up our units and the supplies therein to those on site to aid in their safety.  Eddie has served as the rock or anchor for our building and all of us are in his debt.  We anticipate that we will have your full cooperation as we put our building and property back together."